Just A Fool (In Love With You)
by LaLopez1981
Summary: Tony and Loki are both suffering from something...but no one knows what. Based on the Christina Aguilera/Blake Shelton duet "Just A Fool" and another random song lyric.
1. Whiskey and Silence

**A/N: I'm crazy for starting another fic, but this one has been stewing since I got the Lotus album in London in October and I finally got it down. I listened to the album non-stop and this song just SCREAMED FrostIron to me, particularly Christina = Tony and Blake = Loki.**

**It does start off real angsty and icky-feels, but I promise it gets better! Enjoy!**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

"Another shot of whiskey, please, bartender."

Tony Stark held out his glass toward Dummy and waited for the machine to fill it. Idly, he wondered how much was left in the bottle—his vision too blurry to focus and look for himself—and if he would have to eventually go up to the bar and grab another one. He took back the glass and took a long drink.

Tony was drinking away his sorrows again. No one close to him—as close as anyone could get—knew why or what happened to send him spiraling on another one of his benders. And none of the team could seem to penetrate the depressive air surrounding Tony the last month or so. He just kept drinking himself into a stupor every night. And none of them could stop him. Not even Pepper.

Once, she tried. And Tony had broken down in tears; tears that lasted two whole days. Somehow, he had still managed to join them on missions and fought alongside them—and fought well. But after every battle, after every meeting, at the end of every day, he retreated into the lab—no one thought to ask why he didn't sleep in his bedroom anymore—and drowned himself in whiskey, scotch or vodka.

Tony straightened on his chair and stared with watery eyes into his glass. "Keep it coming 'til I don't remember…" he said to no one in particular. "Turn the music up a little bit louder!" He shouted into the lab, presumably to Jarvis, who did as his creator bid him.

_Just gotta get through to tomorrow_. "Maybe tomorrow it won't be so hard," he murmured softly as he wandered away from his work table to the cot that had become his permanent bed. He emptied his umpteenth glass and fell to the bed with a plop, his face landing smack dab in the middle of the pillow. When he lifted his head for air, tears were streaming down his cheeks. His body curled into a ball, his arms covering his head.

_Who am I kidding?_

One hand moved to his chest, curled into the t-shirt resting just over the arc reactor. "I know what I'm missing…" he spoke out loud into the empty lab, his words drowned out by the heavy metal music of Iron Maiden.

* * *

Loki Laufeyson sat in the same spot he had been sitting in since his return to Asgard. The window seat in his chambers, overlooking his mother's gardens and the glittering city of Asgard with a perfect view of a still-being-repaired Bifrost. It wasn't very comfortable but it was where he wanted to stay.

He stared, but saw nothing. Servants brought food, but he ate nothing. Frigga often came to sit with him. She spoke to him—or rather _at_ him—but he remained silent.

She had been concerned about what her husband would do when her youngest son had returned to their home, after wreaking havoc on Midgard and escaping the clutches of his brother, Thor. The concern shifted considerably when said son quietly accepted any and all punishment Odin Allfather had set upon him—before he had even decided what Loki's punishment would be. Loki had long ago stopped accepted anything quietly from Odin.

In speaking with Thor, she discovered that no one knew where Loki had spent the few months he was missing from Asgard. He had simply vanished. Then he suddenly reappeared again at the place of his initial defeat, Stark Tower—by this point renamed Avengers Tower. Loki gave no explanation as to how he ended up there or where he had been or why he was giving himself up at that point.

Frigga remembered how she had been taken aback at the broken and crestfallen look on her adopted son's face.

What had happened to Loki?

Both she and Thor had tried their hardest to find out, but Loki wouldn't say a word—unusual for the habitually silver-tongued prince, who was normally at the ready with a sarcastic quip or barb. Odin had eventually sentenced Loki to imprisonment for an undetermined amount of time and stripped him of his magic to pay for his crimes. Loki accepted this with no resistance, even freely offering his wrists to be clamped in the magic-binding chains. The only reason Frigga knew he wasn't completely unaware of what was happening to him were the heartbreaking lines of tears that tracked silently down his sharp-boned cheeks.

She pleaded with Odin to let Loki serve his prison sentence in his own chambers. She couldn't bear to visit him daily in the lower dungeons of the castle and feared he wouldn't survive down there very long in his condition. Odin agreed, stationed two prison guards outside his door, and left the magic-binding chains around his wrists.

Still, Frigga couldn't stand to see Loki like this much longer. Every day she went to his room, and every day she tried to get him to speak, to smile, to _look_ at her. But he was an empty shell, a ghost of what was once her mischievous, grinning son.

She couldn't stop her own tears now, as she sat before him, begging him to look at her, at _anything_ but the empty space outside his window. "Loki, darling, please. Help me understand."

He made no movement but to blink.

Frigga pressed a crumpled tissue to her mouth, biting back a sob. A heavy palm landed on her shoulder and she lifted her head to see Thor towering above her.

"Give us a moment, mother."

Frigga got to her feet and laid her head to Thor's massive chest. "When did you get back?"

Thor was still looking at his brother, idly running his hand over his mother's golden hair. His eyes remained on the motionless figure as he answered, "Just now. I came straight here because I needed to speak to Loki."

Frigga pulled back. "Have you discovered something, an explanation?"

Thor finally looked at his mother. His blue eyes settled on hers as he lifted a hand to swipe away her tears with his thumb. "Perhaps; I do not know yet. Let me speak to him."

She looked down at Loki again. "I wish you luck." Quietly, she moved to Loki and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She laid a hand on Thor's forearm as she passed. "Let me know when you are finished. I will send in the servants to see to him."

Thor nodded and waited for Frigga to leave the room before moving to the window seat. He lifted Loki's legs, swimming in a pair of black trousers that once fit more tightly, and sat in their place, setting the bare feet on his lap. "Loki?"

No response.

"I've just returned from Midgard." His eyes narrowed at what he thought was a twitch of one of Loki's black brows. He decided it was just his imagination. "Actually, I was at the tower. My teammates all live there now. Do you wish to know how they are?"

Silence.

"Or perhaps you would just care to know how the Man of Iron is faring?" Alas, success, the blond thought when Loki's head swiveled around and his dull green eyes brightened a bit. His face remained neutral but for a faint line forming between his eyebrows. It was a silent question. "It took us awhile to understand," Thor started. "I commend you both for keeping it a secret for so long."

Loki's chest started to rise and fall at a quicker pace beneath the loose-fitting green shirt, as did his heartbeat.

"It was the lady, Natasha, who made the comment that had it all coming together for me. She is a wise mortal." Thor nodded at his own statement. He knew Loki was waiting for him to give him news on Tony, but he couldn't help but draw out the attention he had missed for so long just a little longer. "The others have yet to figure it out, I think. Aside from Natasha, that is. I left immediately to come see you. I dread the Captain's reaction. He will see Stark as a traitor and want him off the team. The Hawk does not seem to be interested in finding a way to help his fellow teammate, only to condemn him. 'Tis the same with Banner but for different reasons, I think. You remember Banner, do you not, brother?"

Loki's gaze hardened, his lips tightened. And Thor grinned.

"I thought you would. Anyway, I believe the Widow was going to speak to Stark just as I left."

Loki's face softened at the mention of Tony. A question lingered in his eyes. Thor rested his head on the wall behind him and crossed his arms.

"If you want to know, you have to ask."

Loki looked away, out the window again, making a small hiss of disapproval.

"For how long was it going on, brother?"

Loki's jaw worked as he lowered his gaze to his lap, his useless fingers, stripped of their powers, twisting together anxiously.

"How did you manage to talk him into it? Stark has always been one to go his own way, but he never struck me as the type of man to turn on his allies like this. You must have offered him something great to get him to your side." He frowned as Loki lifted his head look out the window again. His pale chin quivered slightly. Thor hadn't imagined that. "Loki…?"

The raven-haired man drew his knees up to his chest, and avoided looking Thor's way, shaking his head.

Thor instantly suspected his and Natasha's initial assumption may have been off the mark. "No. Loki…" he breathed incredulously. Loki's lips parted so he could take a deep breath and two single tears rolled down each of his cheeks. "You didn't... Did you...? _Were_ you...involved with Anthony Stark?"

Glistening green eyes slid Thor's way.

His jaw dropped minutely. "Did…did you care for him? Did you...Loki, tell me...did you _love_ him?""

For the first time in weeks, Loki answered a question without even parting his lips. Thor's answer was in the emerald eyes that remained locked on his, brimming with tears.

"Brother—" Thor reached out for him, but his hands met empty air as Loki jumped to his feet and bolted from the room. "Loki!"

Surprised, it took Thor a moment to get his bearings and run after his brother.


	2. Natasha Can't Deal and Thor Has An Idea

**A/N: So many follows and faves already! Thank you!**

**I've got 4 chapters of this so far, but I'm pretty sure it won't be more than like 10, but thanks for keeping up and reviewing! Love you guys!**

**CanOfLoki - um, sorry for the gross, ugly sobbing and your massive feels. :( I send hugs and tissues! **

**BlessingNinjaPirate - You're so sweet! Thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

When Natasha stepped into the lab, she expected to find Tony tweaking a machine or sprucing up one of the suits or playing with one of his other toys. Instead, she found it empty, the only sign he had been in there the empty bottles of liquor littered here and there. So she wandered up to the lounge and found him in a heap on his sofa, bawling so hard his body shook with each sob and he sounded as if he was struggling for breath. She didn't run to his side, but she did move quickly to him, and helped him into a sitting position. And her nostrils were hit with a wave of whiskey and sweat.

"Ugh. Stark. You need to calm down. You're going to hyperventilate."

The tears didn't stop and Tony was now actively gasping for air. Natasha frowned. This was nothing she was ever trained for. She managed to pry the empty glass from Tony's fingers and made a quick trip to the bar sink to rinse it and fill it with water. She knelt by the sofa, set the water down on the coffee table and pulled Tony forward, forcing his head between his knees.

"Stark, seriously. Calm. Down." The sobs quieted but Tony's body still shook with the crying. "Come on. Who's the girl here?" She smiled thinly when Tony's head snapped up and he let out a short, wet chuckle. "Drink this."

Tony grimaced and pushed Natasha's hand away. "Not whiskey."

"Not the point. Drink it or you'll dehydrate, too." Natasha forced the glass to Tony's lips and tipped it until he was gulping at it. It was gone in a matter of seconds. "More?"

Tony gasped and nodded. He used the hem and sleeves of his Black Sabbath t-shirt to wipe at his wet face. Natasha returned from the bar with more water.

"Here," she said shoving the glass into his hand as she sat next to him on the black couch.

Tony drank half of it down before collapsing against the back of the sofa. "Thanks," he said, his voice a cracking whisper.

"You're welcome."

Tony's breathing slowly started to even out and he asked Jarvis to turn the music down. "What are you doing here, Romanov?"

"I live here, remember?"

"I meant in my lab, woman. No one is allowed up here."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. overrode Jarvis' settings when Fury decided to put you on suicide watch." She dipped her head nonchalantly at Tony's shocked look. "We didn't know what you were capable of, Stark."

Tony shook his head and drank more water then sniffled. "I'm not gonna kill myself. What would be the point? I could just let the next big baddie take me out with one shot."

"Not if the next big baddie is Loki."

The look on Tony's face as he turned to Natasha could only be described as stifled embarrassment. "What?" His voice was barely audible.

Natasha, all business, only nodded once. "I admit it took us way too long to figure this out. But you'd have to say it's way out there, even for this group."

Tony jumped up and stormed away. "You don't know what you're talking about, Agent Romanov. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Stark," Natasha got to her feet and followed Tony's path through the room. "Tell me what happened or I'll be forced to tell Fury what I know."

Tony froze then slowly spun around. "You would do that?"

Natasha crossed her arms. "You've been involved in some capacity with a known enemy. You obviously helped him hideout for the time he was missing. You have been lying to all of us, Stark, for months now. Help me understand why and I won't go to Fury just yet."

Tony could feel the tears forming in his eyes as she spoke. He could feel the humiliation seeping over him again like she was just pouring it over him.

"Thor went back to Asgard to talk to Loki. One of you has to explain this."

His lips curled. "He won't tell Thor anything." Natasha lifted a brow. "Even if he does you can't believe anything he says."

"Why—"

"Because he's the fucking God of Mischief and Lies, Romanov!" Natasha's lips tightened at Tony's outburst. "It's what he's famous for; he gets off on fucking with people's emotions. I thought you knew that."

"Is that what happened?" she asked roughly, taking a step forward, dropping her arms to her sides again. "Did he work some magic on you, like he did to Barton?"

Tony angled his head, narrowed his eyes. "…What?"

"Stark, I need to know the details of your work with Loki. If Loki won't talk to Thor, _you_ have to talk to me. I need information: known associates, details of any missions, any planned attacks—this is important…" Natasha's words died off as Tony began to laugh, chuckling softly at first, but soon it grew to loud guffawing. "What is so funny?"

"You. You…you think…" Tony clutched at his belly and tears started to stream down his cheeks again. But Natasha soon realized they were not just tears of laughter. "You think I was working with…him? You think I turned?" His fists lifted to cover his eyes and he fell to the nearest stool, sobbing quietly for a moment.

Natasha's brain worked to recalculate. "You _weren't_ working with Loki?" Tony shook his head. Natasha stepped forward slowly, not wanting to startle him. "Tony...what exactly was the nature of your relationship with Loki Laufeyson?"

Tony inhaled shakily and sat up straighter. His wet, red, and tired eyes blinking rapidly before he finally focused on the red-headed agent. "The _nature_ of our relationship?"

Natasha indiscernibly nodded her head.

He swiped a hand under his nose and sniffled. "I guess it can only be described as…_sexual_, Agent Romanov." He chuckled sarcastically and stood from the stool, turning his back to her when the only reaction she had was a slow widening of her eyes and a shocked parting of her lips.

Natasha immediately composed herself and again quickly configured this new information into her mental files. "Okay. No judgment here. We've all had our own personal indiscretions. And I apologize for being a little taken aback. That's not really an idea I ever entertained because—well, I didn't realize your tastes went that way. And I thought you and Pepper..."

"I broke it off with her after I…realized it wasn't a one-time thing."

Natasha pressed a hand to her forehead in a rare show of stress. "I don't mean to pry, but…when did this start? How soon after…you know, the Chitauri? Was it going on the entire time he was missing? I mean, even when _we_ were here?"

Tony sniffled again. "That's a lot of questions, agent." He turned his head only slightly. "Will my answers be going in your report to Fury?"

Natasha's back went up. "Stark, if you tell me exactly what happened, we may not need to go to Fury. I'll still have to file a report, but I can get it in under his nose."

Tony looked out to the balcony again. "I don't want to talk about it. I shouldn't have…gotten so involved anyway. I don't need people to know how stupid I was."

He lowered his head and Natasha was certain he was crying again. _What a fucking girl_, she thought silently. "So while we thought you were upset with yourself for turning on us…" She waited for Tony to turn and face her again but he did no such thing. "This whole time you've been, what? Suffering from a broken heart?"

"Don't do that," Tony said through gritted teeth, actually spinning around now. "Don't make it seem petty and ridiculous. Not all of us can have a black heart like you."

"Screw you, Stark. I learned a long time ago that stuff was for children and a waste of time."

"Screw _you_, Natasha! You think none of us see the way you look at Barton?" Natasha's green eyes grew wide, the muscles in her neck tensed. "You think none of us know that you sneak into his room whenever you can? You know who told me about that one? You know who _saw_ you do that one night? Yeah…that's right. L…" Tony faltered trying to say his name. "He did. So don't stand there and act like I'm an idiot for letting my emotions get the better of me."

Natasha huffed quietly. "At least Barton isn't the enemy, Stark."

"He was once," Tony pointed out. "And you would've brought down Manhattan yourself if we didn't get him back when we did."

Frustrated and fed up, Natasha threw up her hands. "You know what? Fuck this. I give up. I know being female everyone thinks I would probably be best suited to handle this, but I'm not."

"Where are you going?" he asked as she started to walk away.

"To get someone who is better equipped for this," she tossed over her shoulder.

Tony sighed, exhausted of the hell he was being put through, and walked out onto the balcony for some fresh air. It had long been repaired from the damage Loki had caused months ago—the god himself even had some input in the remodel. Tony leaned against the new railing and wiped again at his eyes.

"Should've let it go, Tony," he spoke aloud to himself.

"Tony?"

Tony looked back at the doors at the soft-spoken voice and laughed shortly. "Great. She sends Captain Spangly Pants to rescue me," he mumbled to himself.

Steve approached the railing and mimicked the stance Tony had returned to, looking out at the panoramic view, and not at Tony. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, Captain. Like complete and utter shit. How are you?" he asked, feigning geniality.

Steve said nothing, only glanced at the billionaire genius with sad eyes. "Natasha says you've got something to talk to me about."

"Did she?"

"Do you?"

Tony breathed out through his mouth, his nose still stuffy, and shook his head. "Rogers, let me ask you…" He lowered his head briefly. "How…how did it feel when you realized you'd lost Peggy?"

Steve frowned and looked toward the Empire State Building. Natasha had given him no details, no prompt, nothing but shoved him toward Tony's private lounge. This was certainly the last thing he had ever expected to come out of Tony Stark's mouth. "It felt like…" His jaw tightened for a moment as he felt the familiar painful twinge in his chest. "It felt like dying all over again."

His blue eyes—eyes that held a lifetime of memories—turned to Tony when the usually jovial man curled into himself. Kind-hearted to a fault, Steve still had never been in this kind of situation with Tony before. But remembering his old friend Howard, he reached out his hand and awkwardly patted Tony's shoulder before just leaving it there.

"Um, Tony?"

Tony groaned angrily, twisted away from Steve, and kicked at a potted plant. It created a thin crack in the red clay and Steve grimaced a little at it, making a mental note to ask Pepper where he could find a replacement.

"Tony, I don't understand what's going on."

"What else is new?" He muttered so Steve couldn't hear.

"Why did Natasha send me out here to talk to you? And what does any of this have to do with Loki? Or Peggy, for that matter?"

Tony wiped at his eyes again, frustrated and irritated that the goddamn tears wouldn't stop. "Natasha doesn't know how to deal with this, that's why you're here. I asked about Peggy because I…oh, god, Cap, I messed up bad."

Steve moved forward. "With Loki?" Tony nodded. "Are you working with him, Tony?"

"No!" He scoffed when Steve stepped back at his shout. "Jesus. Why does everyone think I'm fighting alongside him? Have any of you once seen me cause any kind of harm anywhere at anytime?"

"No." Steve's brows drew together. "Well, if you weren't fighting with him, Tony, then what the heck were you doing with him?"

"I was fucking him, Steve!" Tony stared through filled eyes at Steve's paled face. It took him a few moments to calm himself again.

"And…now you…he's gone." Tony nodded, clenching his teeth to stop his chin from quivering. But it wasn't working. "And you're…not taking it well."

"Nothing gets past you," he muttered, looking away to wipe at his eyes.

"Tony, stop it." He glanced up at the harsh tone. "I may not understand how certain things work in this century but I know how much it hurts to have something you lo—umm, _care_ about taken away from you."

Tony cursed himself for blushing.

"Talk to me. Tell me what happened. From the beginning."

Tony inhaled deeply, the tears stopping for a little while at least. "Okay. But I need a drink." He turned and walked back into the tower. Steve rolled his eyes and began to follow.

"Of course you do."

* * *

"Loki, stop! Heimdall! Stop him!" Thor flew across the Bifrost, rushing to get to Loki as he ran barefoot down the glittering rainbow bridge.

The gatekeeper didn't need to stop Loki. Thor caught up to him just before he reached the broken edge of the Bifrost and wrapped his heavy arms around him. Loki fell to his knees with the weight of Thor on him, his face contorted into a pained grimace, his cheeks splotchy and his nose red from the running and the tears spilling from his eyes.

"Loki," Thor said out of breath, into the raven hair. "You must get back into the palace."

"Let me fall again. Please," he begged, clutching at Thor's heavy arm, his voice cracking from disuse.

Thor, keeping one arm around Loki, got to his feet and pulled the raven-haired god with him. "Brother," he spun him around to look at his face, "Father's magic is keeping you hidden from your enemies. But it is weaker when you are not _inside_ the palace. You must get back inside."

"I care not anymore!" Loki threw off Thor's arms and tried to fling himself off the bridge again, but this time Heimdall did stop him, shoving him back, pressing a large hand to his chest. With a frustrated grunt, Thor effortlessly tossed Loki over his shoulder, swung Mjölnir at his side, and in seconds, the two princes were once again within the palace walls and Thor was carrying Loki to his room.

"Perhaps you do not care about yourself anymore," Thor started as he unceremoniously dumped Loki onto his bed, slamming the door shut before the guards could run in behind him. "But I will not let you harm yourself and hurt mother any further." Thor jumped back when Loki sprung to his feet and, with as much force as the weakened god could, shoved his fists into Thor's chest. "Loki!" he shouted in surprise.

Growling gutturally, Loki kept pushing forward, trying to pound his fists into Thor repeatedly, despite the bigger man easily fending him off with a gentle swipe of his hand. "Why. Can't. You. Let. Me. Alone?!" he shouted, punctuating each word with a hit.

Tired of the weak pale fists flying his way, Thor wrapped his large hands around Loki's fists and held him an arm's length away. "Loki, stop. Why are you doing this?"

Loki struggled against Thor's strength, fighting with the meager strength he had, and ultimately he gave up, his body crumbling down toward the bed. He missed it and instead slid to the floor, all the while, crying silently. He buried his face in his hands and drew up his knees, curling into the same position he was in on the window seat earlier.

Thor stared down at him in horror. He had never seen his brother like this. And he had no idea how to help him. Thinking he had to offer some kind of comfort, Thor slowly lowered himself to the floor in front of his weeping brother, sitting with his legs crossed and hesitantly laid a hand on Loki's head.

"Brother, please…tell me what ails you," he said softly, running his hand over Loki's jet black hair.

Loki's sobs quieted, but he sniffled and groaned softly. "I said I did not care. I told myself I could walk away…that we were not good together, in any case," he said into his hands.

Thor frowned. "You and Stark?" He pulled his hand back when Loki's head shot up. Green eyes stared at him darkly for a long moment, and Thor was afraid Loki would start yelling again. But he only nodded, still fighting tears.

"I lied. To myself. I knew not that love could be so cruel." He dropped his head again.

Thor felt tears stinging his own eyes. He battled within himself, aching for his brother's pain, but also wanting to smash Tony's head into a wall for causing it—then feeling ashamed for that because he was supposed to be his teammate. "Loki, why did you never tell me? Perhaps I could've helped—" he paused at the odd sound of Loki's laugh.

"Helped?" Loki lifted his head again and stretched out his legs next to Thor. "How could you have helped? The relationship was doomed from the start. I've just been a fool for holding onto something that I can never get back. I just cannot accept that it's lost."

Thor frowned and opened his mouth to speak but struggled to find the words to say. Then grinned. "Perhaps it is not, Loki."

"It is, Thor," Loki responded sadly. "After Anthony told me…" The memory made him hurt and he couldn't finish the sentence. "I've ruined everything" he choked out through tears. "He misunderstood my actions and now…everything is just wrong."

"Loki."

"I wanted Odin to sentence me to death," he said flatly, so emotionless it struck Thor to his core, making his blood run cold and chill shiver up his spine. His intake of breath was so sharp it brought Loki's eyes to his face.

"You don't mean that."

Guiltily, Loki's eyes lowered to his lap. "What's the point of living if the one bright light in my life hates me?"

"He does not hate you."

"He does; he told me so himself."

"He pines for you." Thor nodded once when Loki looked at him again. "We believed he felt wronged by you, betrayed perhaps. Looking back now, I can see…" Thor looked away, focused on nothing, like he was picturing Tony over the past few weeks. Always drunk, always stumbling, always upset, and always near tears. "He suffers a broken heart." He aimed his blue-eyed gaze at his brother and grinned again. "I have an idea."

Loki watched him rush to his feet and hold out a hand to him.

"We must speak to father."


	3. Put Your Arrow Down, Stupid Cupid

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews and favorites! You guys are the best! :)**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

"I should've kept my big mouth shut," Tony slurred only a little and knocked back the rest of his whiskey.

Steve sipped from his third Coke—in a glass bottle from the machine Tony had installed for him when he moved in—and shook his head. "No, Tony." He laid a hand on Tony's arm, trying to reassure him. "If that's how you felt you had every right to tell him. What did he say?"

"Nothing. He disappeared for a week."

"Oh." Steve's shoulders slumped a little as he removed his hand and sipped at his Coke again while Tony refilled his glass—his fourth.

"And still, like a damn fool, I waited and waited for his stupid ass to never come home." He drank again and turned his somewhat blurry vision onto Steve. "Tell me something, Cap. Is this feeling ever gonna stop? Am I ever gonna go back to being myself?"

Steve pulled the straw from his mouth. "No." He stared blankly ahead and heard rather than saw Tony's head clunk against the top of the bar they both sat at and leaned on. "Someday, though, someday it'll get a little easier. Someday, it'll just happen. And she—_he_," he corrected with a shake of his head, "he won't be the last thing you think of before you go to sleep, or the first thing you think about when you wake up. Someday, you won't want to stay in bed and hide under the blankets because the memories of the time you spent together are weighing you down so heavy you can't even think about walking around with it on your shoulders. Someday, you'll be able to go about your day, your work, your life, and not have every second be about fighting to bury the emotions that come up because of something you hear or see or smell, even, that reminds you of…him."

Steve turned and glanced down at Tony, staring up at him with big brown brimming eyes. He brought the straw to his mouth and sipped, looking away again.

"Someday…"

Tony tipped his glass back and drank some more.

"_Sir, Mr. Thor Odinson has landed on the rooftop."_

"Shit." Tony straightened enough to add some more whiskey to his glass. "Did he come back so fast to kick my ass?"

"_Unlikely, sir."_

Tony grimaced, pausing before taking a drink. "Shut up, Jarvis. Unless he's here to pound on me I don't want him in here."

"_I'm sorry, sir. He's already on his way down."_

"Damn it, Jarvis! What kind of security are you?" Wisely, Jarvis stayed silent.

Steve's eyes roamed the ceiling above their heads. "I'm never going to get used to that." Tony giggled. Steve turned on the stool toward the elevator wondering himself why Thor was back so soon. Tony groaned and pressed his head to the counter again. The elevator doors slid open and Tony rolled his head as Steve choked on his Coke. "What the—"

_"Man of Iron!"_

Tony grimaced, forgetting about Steve. "Jesus, Thor. Take it down a few decibels, will you?"

"Tony—Thor—look—" Steve tried to speak and suffered another coughing fit, pointing toward Thor.

"Stark, I have brought you something," Thor said happily.

Tony sighed irritably and took another drink before spinning around on the stool. "What the hell could you possibly have that I would—want." He froze and his glass slipped from his fingers shattering against the floor when Thor brought a handcuffed and muzzled Loki forward.

Loki stepped back barely looking in Tony's direction, his eyes instead set on the shards of glass he would rather be rolling around in than be presented like a wild Bilgesnipe that had been hunted and stuffed for the lord of the manor.

Steve finally stopped coughing and his eyes shot back and forth between Loki and Tony. "Tony?"

Tony blinked and jumped off the stool, crunching glass beneath his boots. "Why the fuck did you bring him here?"

Thor and Loki exchanged a glance and Loki squeezed his eyes shut. "Uh, I believe there has been a misunderstanding…"

"No, there hasn't," he said stubbornly, glaring at Loki now. Loki caught it and darted his eyes away again. Tony wasn't ashamed to admit he felt a sick sense of pleasure at that.

"My friend, my brother and I have spoken and I believe I can explain."

Tony moved forward, quickly regaining his balance after he almost slipped on the glass, closing the distance between him and Loki. Loki flinched, caught himself and tensed, going still as Tony neared him. Tony stared at the muzzle, and curious about it, he lifted a hand to Loki's face, his fingers tracing lightly across it then resting against it and Loki's cool cheek. Loki went rigid but relaxed at Tony's touch and started to turn his face into the callused but well-manicured hand. Remembering himself, Tony snatched his hand back.

"Why do you have that on? Did you go back to Asgard?"

Loki's bloodshot green eyes rested briefly on Tony as he nodded before sliding toward Thor.

"He did. A month or so ago," the blond god answered. "The mouth clamp was one of Odin's conditions when he allowed me to bring Loki here. My father's magic is still keeping Loki hidden from those searching to harm him. He had to work with some of Asgard's finest sorcerers in order to keep Loki hidden while on Midgard. Ironically, the only one with strong enough power to hide him is Loki himself. But his magic is bound by the cuffs."

Loki grunted softly and Thor's cheeks reddened. Tony was about to speak again when the door leading to the staircase flew open and Clint burst in with his bow and arrow aimed at Loki.

"Move!"

"No!" Thor shouted, taking one giant leap in front of Clint.

"Thor, get out of the way!"

"Put your arrow down, Stupid Cupid. There's no threat here."

Everyone turned to look at Tony, and all eyes went wide and jaws dropped. In the seconds between Clint flying in and the brief commotion, Tony had moved his body in front of Loki's, shielding him from any harm, one arm behind him wrapped about Loki's side. He looked down at himself and realized what it looked like then dropped his arm. Behind him Loki's eyes danced.

Clint didn't budge, even as Natasha ran in behind him. "He's an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark, and a fugitive. There's always a threat. Besides," one of his eyes narrowed and he shifted just a bit to perfect his already perfect aim. "I owe him an arrow through the eyeball."

Loki didn't move, but Clint could nearly feel the heat of his glare from behind Tony.

Natasha made an unladylike noise behind Clint. "Clint, put it down."

"Stay out of this, Tasha."

"_Clint."_

"You heard your girlfriend. Drop it, Legolas. _Fuck!_"

Loki's shout was muffled behind the muzzle as Tony's body fell against him. His hands tried to grab a hold of him, to find purchase somewhere on his person, but even with the short chain between them he couldn't and they slid to the ground together.

"Clint! You fucking idiot!" Natasha knocked the bow out of his arms and ran to Tony's side along with Thor and Steve.

"_Owwww!_ God damn it! That's _it_, Bird Man! You're fucking dead! _Shiiiiiiit!_" Tony tried to sit up but the arrow dug deeper into the muscle of his shoulder every time he tried to move. Loki pressed his hands to Tony's other shoulder and the side of his face to keep him down, his attempted speech coming out as grunts and groans. Steve, Thor, and Natasha reached for arms, legs and Steve tried to check the wound. Tony slapped everyone's hands away and shushed them all. "Stop, stop, stop! I'm fine! Gah…! It's just my shoulder. I can't believe he fucking shot me with a fucking arrow. What is this, The Hunger Games?! _Fuuuuuuck!_"

"Stop moving, Stark."

"No shit, Romanov," he growled through gritted teeth. He felt hands running over his head, over his hair, in a soothing manner, and he realized with a jolt that they were Loki's hands and his head was nestled in his lap. He looked up into the concerned green eyes, the voices of everyone else fading in his mind, and his vision began to blur from more than just the whiskey. "Wait. What's…"

"Stark. Are you feeling well?" Thor's voice was distorted.

"Why are there…two of you?" Tony's hand went to Loki's face but ended up between two very cold hands. "Loki…?" When his eyes rolled closed, Loki's head snapped up and he glared at Clint. He grunted to get Thor's attention and jutted his chin toward the man standing over them all.

"Why has he fainted, Barton?"

Clint shrugged lazily. "I must've hit him with the arrow laced with a little something. It was meant for a god so it's pretty strong," he said with a mean grin aimed at Loki. "He might be out for a couple of hours." Loki growled again.

"Clint!" Natasha shot to her feet. "What the hell were you thinking? You could've killed him!"

"Na-uh! I was aiming for Loki. I hoped it would just go _through_ Tony."

Loki growled again and Thor clenched his jaw. "Lady Romanov, it may serve us all well if you were to escort Agent Barton from the room immediately."

Clint frowned down at Thor. "What does that mean?"

"It means I need to get you out of here before you get your ass kicked," Natasha said digging her nails into his arm and shoving him out of the room. "Fucking idiot."

"Ah! Why? What did I do?"

"You pissed off the God of Thunder's baby brother, that's what; which means you _actually_ pissed off the God of Thunder!"

"Quit shoving me, woman!"

"Call me 'woman' one more time, Clint. One more!" They were still arguing as they left the room.

"He'll be fine," Steve said, resting a hand on Thor's shoulder, but aiming the reassurance in Loki's direction. "He just needs to sleep it off. Thor, help me move him to the sofa."

* * *

Tony knew he was dreaming. He could tell by the way he glided across…what the fuck was it? A bridge. A rainbow bridge. Shit, he was dreaming of Asgard. And there was Loki—beautiful pale-skinned, green-eyed Loki, with his slicked back raven hair and smirking red lips, dressed up in his shiny metal and leather. He was holding Tony's hand and leading him toward a giant golden castle. Why was he dreaming of Asgard? Why was he dreaming of being there with Loki?

As of late, his dreams of Loki were repeats of two scenarios. It was either the horrified look on his face just after Tony admitted he was in love with him and just before he disappeared, or the pained look on his face when he tried to come back and Tony wouldn't let him and essentially turned him over to the Avengers.

This dream was much better. Then he heard Thor's voice, booming as always, followed by his boisterous laughter. Why was he always so happy? It was annoying in real life _and_ his dreams. When he heard Steve's soft chuckle, Tony realized he was starting to wake up. He clung a little longer to the dream, enjoying the feeling of being close to Loki again—all the hurt and the pain gone, the tears stopped. But Thor laughed loudly again and it made Tony jump and his eyes shot open.

He stared at the ceiling for a minute, blinking away the tears that threatened to form at the knowledge that it _was_ all a dream. He pressed a hand to the arc reactor, over his heart, and waited for the ache to pass. He sighed and started to roll his body over to lay on his stomach. He froze about halfway, for sitting in the adjacent love chair just behind him, staring silently at him was Loki.

"You been sitting there this whole time?" he asked softly.

Loki didn't move at first but then slowly nodded. Tony took a good look at him, sitting there with the dark of evening settling just behind him. He wasn't wearing his normal armor, but he wasn't wearing his usual green linen shirt and black pants that he used to lounge around the tower in either. His attire looked more fitting of a prisoner; loose brown pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt. His hair looked stringy and his cheeks even more hollow and sharper than normal. He wanted to ask if he'd been starving himself, and nearly did, before remembering this was the source of his inability to function like a human being since he left.

His lips pressed together. "What the hell did you come back for?" Loki's black eyebrows drew up and together, his forever watering eyes lowered to his lap, and he turned his head away.

"How're you feeling? Sorry," Steve muttered when Tony blanched at his voice and fell off the sofa. His shoulder stung with pain and he grabbed for it, noticing for the first time the bandage taped to his skin. And the giant chunk of his t-shirt that had been cut off.

"Oh. My. _God!_ Are you guys kidding me?!" He yelled at Thor and Steve, clutching at the Black Sabbath tee. "Do you have any idea how much I love this shirt?" he screeched.

"Tony, we had to cut it to get to the arrow and the wound," Steve attempted to explain.

"Bullshit! God." Tony got to his feet, still pressing his hands to the t-shirt lovingly, regretfully. "I know your idea of a hit is some 'Bugle Boy from Company B'-type shit and Thor wouldn't know good music if it bit him in the ass, but—"

The three men looked at Loki when the muzzled man chuckled behind the contraption. Thor grinned, but tilted his head, knowing he was the butt of the joke. Tony, still irritated, ignored Loki and returned to glaring at Steve and Thor.

"This shirt is from Black Sabbath's '78 American tour. This was significant! And now it's a dishrag!"

"Tony, calm down. We'll get you another one." Steve sighed impatiently as Tony pouted at him and kicked at the sofa like a petulant child.

"There are more important matters at hand, Stark," Thor said calmly. "I have some things I must explain to you."

"About what?"

"Well…" Thor glanced at Loki, whose eyes were glued to Tony. "I have to speak for my brother."

"No. If it's not coming from him, I don't want to hear it." Tony started to storm out of the room and had moved just in time as the coffee table was violently shoved across the floor by the force of Loki's kick. He looked at Loki with wide eyes as the god glared at him, breathing heavily from where he stood. "That could've killed me!" he pointed at the table.

Loki dramatically rolled his eyes then shoved his hands toward Thor.

Tony looked at him then back to Loki. "I said no. I don't want to hear whatever bullshit you fed him. The crap that comes out of your mouth is nothing but _lies_!"

"Mmm!" Loki shook his head vigorously and pleaded with his eyes, his hands in tight fists at his sides. He looked at Thor and gave him a nod. Thor nodded in return and stepped around the sofa.

"As I said before, I believe there was a misunderstanding."

"I didn't misunderstand anything," Tony said directly to Loki. "I think it was pretty clear what you were trying to say when I told you I—" he glanced nervously at Thor.

"Mm-mm-mm…" Loki hummed to get Tony's attention and tried to communicate with him.

"You tell him what I said?" Loki nodded. "And you don't want to kill me?" he muttered to Thor. The large blond man, shrugged a shoulder, and purposely cracked his knuckles.

"The thought has crossed my mind more than once."

Both Loki and Tony rolled their eyes. "Great. Keep that thought in mind. I might just let you." He glanced at Loki who was frowning at him. "I got your message when you disappeared into green smoke and took off for a week. It's my own damn fault to think you'd be..." His face reddened, remembering Thor and Steve, and he glared at Loki again. "You made a fool out of me," he growled out through his teeth.

Loki stepped forward again, but Thor threw out his arm, pressing his hand to Loki's chest to keep him back. "It was not what you think, Stark." Tony's eyes flicked to him briefly but were immediately drawn back to Loki's. "He needed time to assess his own feelings, yes, but he also had some other aspects to take into consideration."

"Like what?"

Thor looked at Loki and the raven-haired man motioned him to continue by throwing up his hands then returned his gaze to Tony, his eyebrows lifted high above his bright blue eyes. "Your safety."

Tony scowled at Loki. "My safety? Are you kidding me, Reindeer Games? I'm Iron Man! I successfully privatized world peace single-handedly, remember? Nobody can touch me!"

Loki grunted again, fisting his hands and shaking them at Tony, even as Thor held him back again. "Stark. You know there are enemies not of this world that have yet to show their faces. Loki has such opponents that would not hesitate to come after you to get to him. He needed to make sure it was worth that risk to—"

"To what?" Tony challenged, moving up to get in Loki's face, moving Thor out of his way. The tall god held up his hands, laying them to Tony's chest when he was close enough. "I seemed pretty worth the risk when you were fucking me in the bedroom down the hall, didn't I?"

"Tony!" Steve chastised.

"Shut up or get out!" Tony yelled back, aiming a finger at the door but never taking his eyes from his former lover. Loki's fingers curled into his shirt and he tried to pull him closer, to reach for his face. "Get off me." Tony shoved his hands away then found himself being shoved back.

"Mmm!" Loki moved his body between Tony and Thor, forcing Thor back before he could harm Tony any further. Thor held up his hands innocently and stepped back. "Mm-mm-mm…?" Loki looked to Tony again.

"What?" he asked shortly, knowing Loki was effectively saying his name behind the silver muzzle clamped over his lips. He was rubbing at the headache beginning to thrum at his temples and jerked a little at the fingers that just touched his chin. He looked up and the hand fully cupped his chin. "What?" he asked again, softer, gentler.

Loki breathed sharply through his nose. He pulled his hands back and laid them on his own chest; his fingers were alabaster against the dark green of his linen shirt. Tony's brows drew together. Loki patted his chest.

"You? What about you?" he asked after Loki nodded.

Loki lowered his gaze to Tony's chest before laying his hands over the arc reactor. He lifted damp eyes to Tony's.

"Wha…the reactor?" Loki shook his head. "Me?" Again. "Loki, I don't—ow." He stumbled a bit when Loki applied pressure on him. "What? CPR? Chest? Heart?"

"Mm!" He nodded excitedly.

"Okay! What? You heart what?"

Loki's eyes swam again and he angled his head. The cuffs clinked, almost jingling, as he lifted his hands to touch Tony's chin once more.

"Me?" Loki nodded once; a tear escaped and rolled down his cheek, disappearing behind the muzzle. Tony's eyes began to fill and he breathed out a stunned laugh. "You…you heart _me_?" His eyes searched Loki's, holding his breath until he got the confirmation. By the way the lines formed around the glistening emerald eyes, Tony knew Loki was smiling. And then he nodded. Tony took his hands in his and held them to his chest.

"Loki came back to Asgard and gave himself up," Thor said from behind the sofa once more.

Tony gasped quietly, his eyes darting from Loki to Thor and back to Loki. "Why?"

"Initially, he wanted to answer for his crimes against Asgard and Midgard, and to seek protection from his enemies, so that one day he could return…and be with you."

Tony's fingers curled tighter around Loki's. "Son of a bitch," he muttered.

"However, after he'd made his decision, he returned here to tell you of his plans, and—"

"I was too bombed out of my mind and angry with him to listen," Tony finished. "Oh, god, Loki." He cupped the muzzled face, swiped at another runaway tear, and had never wished so desperately that he could kiss someone. "I'm so sorry."

"Mm," he shook his head. "_Mm_." He pressed their joined hands to his chest.

"No, it's not you," he laughed out, fighting his tears. "Thor, take it off." His fingers dug into the metal of the muzzle at Loki's cheeks. Loki shook his head and tried to remove Tony's hands, who only tried again.

"I cannot, my friend. I am not as skilled at magic as my brother and my father."

"Take it off. Please." Loki took his hands in his again and shook his head. "Fine." Tony tightened his grip once more and started pulling Loki toward the elevator.

"Tony, where are you going?" Steve asked as he followed.

"My lab. Jarvis, open the elevator doors," he said, scowling at them. "I'm pretty sure I've got something in there that can work this off."

"Tony, don't even think about it." Steve lunged for the doors as Tony tried to pull a struggling Loki into the mirrored box with him.

"Stark, you cannot!"

"Mm-mm-mm, mm!" Loki planted his feet and pulled on Tony's hands. He spun around and fought almost weakly with Loki in a lame game of tug-of-war. "Mmm…," he shook his head again.

Tony stopped fighting him and brought him close. "I need to hear your voice, Loki. I need to see that annoyingly sexy smirk." He pressed his forehead to Loki's. "I need to feel your lips on mine…" he murmured softly.

"Mmm-mm-mm…" Loki caressed his face as best he could with his cuffed hands.

"Stark, the only one who can remove that clamp is the Allfather. Your tools will do nothing but harm Loki. The spell is set to cause him pain if it is tampered with." Thor smiled and shrugged apologetically when Tony finally tore his eyes away from Loki.

"Fine. Let's go." He yanked Loki toward the elevator again.

"Where?" Steve asked on laugh, amused by Tony's completely different mood from just a few hours ago.

"To Asgard."

Loki froze and stared at Tony while Thor and Steve exchanged shocked looks. "Mmm?"

Tony grinned at the man he held on to. "You heard me. Even if I have to go to the king of Asgard myself and ask him to take this off, I will."

Loki turned his wide eyes to Thor. He shrugged and sputtered in his haste to explain. "S-stark, no one in Asgard, aside from myself, knows about your relationship with Loki."

"So?"Tony dropped Loki's hands and faced Thor. "Don't tell me the place you brag about being so much better than Earth is afraid of a little man on man loving?" No one noticed the way Loki slapped a palm to his face.

"No, of course not," Thor answered, almost insulted by the comment. "Asgardians put no such judgment on couplings of any kind, as you mortals do. None of the other realms do! In fact, the Frost Giants are well-known to change—"

"Mm-mm!" Loki grunted, and shoved Tony aside, flailing wildly at Thor who again reddened and hunched his shoulders in shame.

"Wait. Aren't you a Frost Giant?" Tony asked aiming a finger in Loki's direction. He glared, his emerald eyes darkening dangerously. "What can you change? What can he change?" he asked Thor.

"_Mmm_." Loki shook his head at Thor.

The giant blond fought not to smile or laugh and shook his head. "I, I should not have said anything, Stark. I do not know."

"Whatever. If it's not that I'm a man then what's the problem? Why is it a big deal if no one knows about me and Loki? Why can't we just go?"

"You are a Midgardian, Man of Iron. As impressed as the warriors of Asgard would be with your tales of heroism and battles, and the sorcerers intrigued by your work in the field of science, it will not change the fact that a prince of Asgard, which strictly speaking, Loki still is, has deigned to take a mortal to his bed."

Tony scoffed. "Okay, first of all, I've never even seen Loki's bed." Beside him Loki rolled his eyes. "Second, haven't you ever heard the saying, 'there's a first time for everything?'"

Thor lips pursed as he looked directly at Loki. This time it was the dark-haired god that turned red. They all looked at Steve when he chuckled.

"What are you laughing at, old-timer?" Tony questioned, crossing his arms.

Steve turned the laugh into a cough and a clearing of his throat. "Nothing, I just…I think I caught on before you."

"Caught on to what?" Tony looked at Loki, who blushed further. "What? Okay, I'm not stupid. I know I wasn't your first. You didn't exactly move like a snow-white virgin."

"Ugh," Thor groaned and dropped to the sofa. "I know far too much about my brother's bedroom activities."

"Shut up, Thor," Tony tossed over his shoulder as he turned to Loki. "Are you telling me I wasn't your first mortal?" Loki's eyes slid toward Thor then back to Tony and he shook his head. Tony lowered his chin and grinned a little. "Am I the first one Odin would know about?"

Loki made an uncomfortable sound and bristled a little before lifting his chin proudly. And once again he nodded. He looked to Thor again, possibly for some kind of reassurance or help, but the blond man gave a flick of his hands—a sign that he wasn't getting involved—and sat back on the sofa, stretching his large arms across the back of it. Loki growled at him.

"What do you expect me to do?" Thor asked on a laugh. "You want me to break one of Odin's most revered laws and take a mortal to his sacred city? He would have my head. And yours for mating with him." Loki huffed sharply, nearly turning away.

"Whoa, wait a minute. We're not animals in heat here. Besides," Tony moved back into the room, hooking a finger into the chain between Loki's cuffs, and tugging him along with him. "It's not like you're taking just _any_ random mortal off the planet." He moved the table back to its place then sat Loki down in the nearest seat, another adjacent from the sofa Thor sat on. He sat himself on its wide arm, facing the big blond mass across from him. "This is me we're talking about here. I'm not just anybody, Point Break. I…am Tony Stark."

Thor's blond brows rose and he angled his head to look at Loki. The paler man sat up a little straighter. "You are willing to risk your life for this arrogance?" Loki hooked his fingers into the crook of Tony's elbow and pulled until his hand was between his thin fingers. He set his gaze on Thor and nodded. "Well, you two certainly do have a lot in common."

"Ass," Tony mumbled. Loki nudged Tony with his shoulder and hummed in agreement.

Thor chuckled then sighed softly, stroking his blond beard. "This is dangerous, brother."

"Mm-hmm," he answered with a nod. "Mmm." Thor flicked up his eyes, assuming Loki was calling for his attention. Again, he pleaded with his eyes. "Mmm…?" He held up his and Tony's joined hands then pressed them to his chest again.

Thor's mouth twisted to the side in thought. "All right. But you had better support me equally if I ever bring Jane back to Asgard." Loki rolled his eyes and huffed arrogantly, but agreed. Thor eyed Tony, his eyes running up and down his compact frame.

Tony grimaced. "What?"

"You cannot meet the king and queen of Asgard like this. We shall have to do something about your appearance."

Tony looked down at his shirt. "What's wrong with my appearance? Aside from the fact that you butchered my favorite t-shirt."

"Well," Thor pushed to his feet. "You must wash and rid yourself of that awful stench of alcohol. And shave. And wear the finest clothing you own. It may help if you bring one of your mechanical suits as well. What do you say, Man of Iron?"

Tony rolled up his eyes toward the ceiling. "Uh…no shit, planned on it, I've got nothing but Armani in my closet and I can bring the portable one. And I just realized you have no idea what Armani is." Tony stood and smacked a hand to Thor's bicep. "I've got it covered, Thunder Boy." He wrapped his arm around Thor, as much as he could, and led him toward the elevator, beckoning Steve to follow. "We leave first thing in the morning."

"What?" Thor's raised voice reverberated throughout the elevator as he stepped in.

Tony stepped aside to let Steve walk in and cocked a brow at Thor. "What? Is Daddy expecting you home by midnight? You got a curfew?"

Thor looked at Steve. "What is a curfew?"

Steve made a confused face. "Seriously?"

Thor waved him off and turned back to Tony. "Stark, my father is not expecting us at a certain time, however—"

"Cool, problem solved then," the billionaire interrupted. He stuck his head into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor with all of the Avengers' rooms. "Relax, Thor. It's not like you don't have a place to stay."

"Yes, 'tis true. But what of Loki?"

Said man's head rose and turned at the mention of his name. He hadn't moved from his seat and now sat forward and twisted to look at the open elevator. Tony's eyes glided over to him, his lips curving slowly and wickedly. Loki felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Don't worry about Loki," he said before looking back at Thor. "I'll take care of him."

Thor realized the implication of that one second too late. Tony kept the grin on his face, his eyes on Thor's red and blustering face as the elevator doors slid closed on it.


	4. Don't They Have Bondage on Asgard?

**A/N: First of all, apologies for the late update! I've been busy doing the porn challenge and finishing up Empire State of Mind (I am so sorry!), plus school and getting sick and friends' birthdays at Disneyland...it's all been hectic. This chapter is a lot shorter than I meant for it to be, but it was enough for a small update, since it's been so long.**

**And for those of you who died crying because of ESOM, hopefully this will make up for it some. Thanks for all the positive reviews for this! Enjoy!**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

Loki wasn't sure why, but he was suddenly anxious now that he was alone with Tony. He had never been anxious with the man before. And he wondered what Tony had planned—and he knew the genius had _something_ planned, if that grin he sent him was any indication—if they couldn't even communicate properly.

"Lock down the elevators, Jarvis," Tony said to his disembodied A.I. "No interruptions tonight unless it's a matter of life and death."

Loki had righted himself in his seat and could hear Tony's voice getting closer from behind him. Suddenly it was quiet but for the A.I.'s response, confirming that the elevators were locked. Then Tony was snatching up the short chain between Loki's cuffed wrists and pulling him to his feet. Loki made a questioning noise but it was cut short as Tony turned and started down the hall—toward his bedroom, Loki was sure—yanking Loki along behind him.

"Mm-mm-mm. Mmm!" Loki's grunts were ignored and when they reached Tony's room he was moved toward the bed. He sat, as it was the only thing he could do, and waited. Tony closed the door and asked Jarvis to lower the lights so they weren't so bright.

"You know I haven't slept in here since you left," Tony commented, looking around as if it was the first time he had seen the place in awhile—which, apparently, it was. When Tony finally settled his gaze on him, Loki cocked a black brow in question. He shrugged. "Too many memories I guess."

Loki wanted to know where he slept but couldn't see his grunting and humming communicating that question. But by the look of his love's face, wherever he slept, he hadn't slept there often. He shifted on the bed as Tony lowered to sit beside him. His heart beat heavy in his chest as Tony lifted his hand and slowly, lovingly, brushed a few strands of hair away from Loki's eyes. Loki's lips and tongue pressed against the clamp and he lowered his head, covering his face with his hand and grunting in frustration. He had so much to say.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked softly.

"Mmm-mm-mm!" He snorted sharply through his nose because Tony couldn't understand him. He motioned with his hands, like he was signing.

"You want something to write with?"

Loki nodded enthusiastically. Tony looked around for a moment before snapping his fingers and pulling open the drawer in his bedside table. He pulled out one of his company's tablets and pressed his finger to the screen bringing it to life. He opened a note-taking application and handed it to Loki.

"Type it." Loki held the tablet in his hands for a moment and lifted green eyes full of confusion. Tony tapped the screen and a keyboard popped up. "Type."

Loki nodded and, balancing the tablet on his knees, he delicately tapped his fingers to the keyboard before holding it up for Tony. "_I am sorry_," it read.

"Why?" Tony questioned with a shrug. "I'm the one who fucked everything up. I should've listened to you. I should've let you talk. Then maybe we wouldn't have lost all that time and we could've—" Tony went quiet when Loki placed a hand over his mouth. He caressed the side of Tony's face then typed something else and held up the tablet again.

"_I ran from you at your most vulnerable moment. And I hurt you. For that, I am sorry._"

Tony laid a hand on Loki's thigh. "Okay. Me, too." He pulled his hand back as Loki lowered his head to type another message.

"_I have missed you, Anthony._"

His eyes, beginning to glisten, rose to Loki's after reading it. "I missed you, too, babe." By the way Loki sighed, Tony knew he was as happy to hear the term of endearment as he was to say it. Loki bent to type again and Tony pulled it away from him, setting it on top of the bedside table. "I didn't want time alone with you so you could hunch over that thing all night."

Loki made a questioning noise as Tony sat back. His body tensed when Tony lifted his cuffed hands and slid himself under his arms, wrapping his own around him. Once Tony settled himself against him, Loki relaxed and curled his arms around the small but compact body. They sat like that for awhile, just holding each other, until Loki felt Tony tremble.

"Mm-mm-mm…?" He lifted his arms and pushed against Tony until he sat up. When he did, Tony's cheeks were damp and shining with tears. Loki took his face in his hands and turned it up, grunting and humming questioningly.

Tony groaned and flicked at Loki's fingers so he could wipe at his face but Loki wouldn't let him go. "Stop. I'm okay." Loki grunted again, a harsher edge to it now. "I'm just…I didn't think you were ever coming back."

With a huff, Loki took Tony's hand and placed it on his cheek. "Mm! Mm-mm."

"What?" Loki scoffed and reached for the tablet. He couldn't figure out how to get it to work and angrily shoved it at Tony. "Seriously, you spent months watching me use my shit and you still can't figure this out." He got it to the notepad again and handed it back to Loki. He typed as fast as he could.

"_I'm here!_"

Tony wiped at his face as Loki typed more. "I know, Loki. But—"

Loki pressed a finger to his lips, typed again. "_I will always be here. If you will have me._"

"Don't start making promises. We don't even know if Odin's gonna take that thing off and let you come back with me. We could be wasting our time." He ignored Loki's angry wordless protests. "I don't want to fight with you, Loki, because…what if this is our last night together?"

Loki shook his head and typed again. "_I LOVE YOU, ANTHONY._"

"Someone figured out the caps lock," he mumbled.

"Mm. Mm. Mm."

"I know. I love you, too." Loki lowered his head back to the tablet to write again and Tony placed a palm over it, leaning in to press his lips to Loki's neck. "Quit it, Loki." Loki flinched a little at the show of affection and leaned away. Tony's head jerked back as he straightened. "What?"

Loki chuckled quietly and shrugged a shoulder then lifted his cuffed hands in implication. Tony smirked and twirled the chain around his finger.

"What? Don't they have bondage on Asgard?" He asked the question as he slipped his hand under Loki's shirt. Loki's muscles quivered at Tony's touch and he bent to press his forehead to his. He leaned into the embrace, his hands roaming over Loki's chest and back. "I wanna kiss you so bad…" he whispered heatedly, his breath fanning over Loki.

He cupped Tony's face, as best as he could, and nuzzled him with his nose, humming softly. Tony moved his long-fingered hands out of his way and leaned in for his neck again, lapping at the skin as if it was Loki's mouth, scraping his teeth along the line of his throat, licking around his Adam's apple, and almost gnawing on his collarbone. Loki moaned, lifting his head and turning it this way and that for Tony to move around, curling his fingers in his t-shirt where he could reach.

Tony moved up to his ear again. "You like that, baby?"

Loki nodded and tugged him closer using his shirt, careful not to hit his bandaged shoulder. Tony lightly pressed himself into Loki, urging him to fall back to the bed and pushing up his shirt until it and his arms were over his head. Their eyes met briefly and Tony flashed him a grin before kissing down Loki's chest, spending some time on each nipple before continuing lower, circling his tongue around his belly button and nibbling down the light trail of hair that disappeared into his brown pants. Loki moved, writhing, almost undulating against Tony's mouth. His fingers clenched in the shirt collected around his hands, his moans and cries muffled behind the muzzle.

Tony moved to his knees on the floor and hastily pulled of Loki's worn boots and socks, hissing quietly at the little sting of pain in his shoulder, then moved back onto the bed, pressing his lips to and sliding his tongue along the skin just above the waistband of his pants, while his fingers worked to undo the tie holding them up. He finally got it loose, but instead of pulling the pants right off, Tony started to massage Loki through them, making the god's muffled noises grow louder.

Loki lifted his head to look down at Tony, grunting behind the metal piece, lifting his hips and trying to get Tony to understand he needed more, much more.

But Tony kept moving slow, knowing Loki was growing more and more impatient; he wanted to savor it. It had been so long since he had been with the god like this and who knew when, or if, they would get the chance to be together again.

He tugged the pants down just enough to have Loki's hard, thick cock spring up from its confines and he immediately caught the tip between his lips. He moaned at the taste of Loki against his tongue, the sound vibrating against the god's sensitive length, making the bound man buck up, further entering Tony's mouth. He wrapped his fingers around the base of Loki's cock, squeezing, as he ran his tongue around the head and sucked.

Loki's leg kicked out, doing his best to wriggle out of his pants, breathing heavily through his nose, and mentally cursing Odin for the damned chains that had his hands bound. Keeping his mouth moving up and down Loki's length, Tony caught his flailing legs in one hand, gripping the pants and tossing them to the floor. Pushing up to his knees, Tony grabbed Loki's legs and swung him around with one arm so he was situated correctly on the bed, before shoving his legs up, his perfectly round pale ass in the air, and he bent his head to take a bite of one firm cheek.

Loki moaned and laughed at the same time, shaking his head when the shirt, still pooled around his hands, covered his face, when Tony spun him. At the feel of Tony's teeth, he groaned…and then Tony's tongue was on the spot where he had been craving for it to be since he saw him again.

Holding Loki's legs back by the thighs, Tony licked up Loki's crack then started to lap at his entrance, poking the tip of his tongue in and out repeatedly, making the god moan loudly. "Mmm, Loki…I forgot how good you taste."

"Mmnnh…! Mm-mm-mm! Mmnnh…"

Tony lowered Loki's legs, kneeling between them as he carefully removed his shirt and flung it aside. "What? You want the real thing, don't you?"

Loki panted through his nose, watching Tony, and nodded. He lifted one leg to rub his thigh along Tony's hip. Tony laughed breathlessly and scrambled off the bed to quickly strip off his jeans then crawled back on the bed, licking a long, wet trail up Loki's torso to his neck.

"I love you, Loki."

"Mmm…mm mm…"

Sucking at his neck, Tony moved his hand down Loki's body, and stroked his cock a few times, rubbing the precum from the slit onto his finger before sliding it down his perineum until he found his entrance and pushed it in.

"Mmm…!" Loki went still for a moment, the feeling of someone inside him a slightly foreign feeling after going so long without it, but once Tony started to move his finger, curling it up to brush against his sweet spot, he relaxed and remembered just how wonderful it felt. "Mm…mmm…mmm…" He moaned as his hips began to rotate around Tony's finger.

Tony nipped at Loki's cheek. "Hmm…somebody missed me this way…"

"Mm-hmm…" He breathed in sharply as a second finger was added and he was stretched. He turned his head and nudged Tony with his nose—the most he could do without being able to kiss his love. He whined softly after Tony removed his fingers and moved over Loki, spreading his legs with his knee so he could settle between them, and cupped his face.

"Look at me." Loki opened his eyes, dark hunter green settling on dark chocolate brown. Tony smiled at him and pressed his lips to the muzzle where Loki's mouth would be. Loki made a sound—pleased and surprised—and his tongue and lips automatically pressed into the metal. He whimpered again, almost mournfully, at not being able to kiss him back.

Tony moved his mouth down to nip and lick at Loki's throat, lifting one of his long, pale legs and easing himself into Loki's tight entrance, groaning as he did. "Ffffuck…oh, Jesus…nnnh, oh, Loki baby…"

"…Mmm…!" Loki brought his arms down over Tony's head, the shirt flying down with it, the buttons on the sleeves stinging Tony's back as they slapped against him. Still, Loki hugged him close.

"Ow! Shit! What is that?" Tony moved out from under Loki's arms and sat up. Still inside Loki, he started tearing the shirt, ripping it until he could pull it off of Loki completely and tossed it to the floor. He fell forward, his hands on either side of Loki's head and grinned down at him. "That's better."

"Mmm…" he hummed in agreement, reaching for Tony's face as he started to move in and out of him. His hands slid further down his chest, his translucent skin becoming slick and shiny with sweat as he did his best to lift his hips and meet Tony's agonizingly slow pace. "Mm…mm…mm!"

Tony could feel Loki's hands move down and reach between their meeting bodies to start stroking himself. "Tsk, tsk, nope." Tony shook his head and gripped Loki's arm by the wrist and moved them above his head again. "Not 'til I say so."

Loki groaned, rising to press himself against Tony, using his body to beg for more. Still buried deep inside Loki, Tony hummed a laugh at Loki's eagerness and lowered his upper body to nestle against him.

"God, I missed you so much."

"Mmm!" Loki grunted aggressively, pushing his ass up from the bed, rotating his hips against Tony's cock.

Tony's eyes rolled closed and he moaned loudly. "You need it bad, don't you, baby?" Loki responded with another grunt, still trying to get Tony to move. He chuckled because he was sure he understood the meaning behind Loki's grunt. "I want it bad, too." He pushed up again, setting his hands on Loki's biceps as he started to pump himself faster into the writhing body beneath him.

"Mmnh! Mm-hmm!" Loki's hands pressed against the headboard, using it to help himself push against Tony. "Mm-mm!"

"Huh?"

"_Mm-mm!_"

"Harder?"

Loki nodded vigorously and threw his head to the side as Tony's cock just brushed over that sensitive part once again. Tony thrust harder, as Loki demanded, moaning with each effort, his skin slapping against Loki's. Their bodies easily fell into a familiar rhythm, as if they hadn't been separated at all.

Tony slowed then stopped and pulled out, making Loki whine, instantly missing the feeling of being filled by him. He reached for the chain between Loki's hands and hauled him up to a sitting position. "You want to ride me, Loki?"

Loki's eyes flashed and glittered before he gave one firm nod.

Tony lowered himself to the bed and helped Loki straddle his lap, guiding his cock to his entrance. He smiled up at Loki when the god pushed his hands away once he was fully seated on his cock. Loki moved up then down, his brow furrowed as his body adjusted to Tony's girth and length again. Pressing his hands to Tony's torso, just under the reactor, Loki used him as the leverage to rock against him, moving faster and faster until he really was riding Tony.

"Unh, yes, Loki…mmm…baby, ride that cock." His hands trailed up Loki's arms, down his back, and settled at his narrow hips as Loki leaned back on him.

"_Mmmnnhh_!" He threw his head back, moaning as he moved against Tony. Eyes still closed, Loki blindly searched for Tony's hand and finding it, moved it to his aching, leaking cock, and lowered his eyes to meet Tony's. "Mmn…?"

Tony opened his eyes when he felt Loki's cock, grinned at the beautiful man above him, and started to stroke him at his own pace. The feeling of Tony's hand finally on him spurred Loki on and he bounced even faster, his pants choked and muffled.

It wasn't long before his pants turned to moans and he was coming on Tony's chest.

"Ohh, mmm, yes…" Tony milked Loki through his orgasm, groaning as he felt him tighten around him and continued to thrust up into him. "Fuck, Loki, you're gonna make me come."

Still riding the high of his climax, Loki took Tony's hands, linked their fingers, and ground himself against him, determined to make him come as hard as he had.

"Yes, Loki, yes! Keep going…fuck yes, baby, make me come. Make me…oh, _shit_!" Tony gave one hard tug on Loki's hands to pull him down, and wrapped his arms around the slim body as he came hot and fast inside him.

Loki turned his head so he didn't press the muzzle into Tony's skin. He listened to Tony's heart race until it slowed to a steady beat. He felt Tony pull out of him and his seed leak down his balls. Tony stayed there for a moment, quiet and spent, before nudging Loki with his knuckle on his hip.

"Babe, we've gotta do this the old-fashioned way."

He moved Loki onto the bed and slid out from under him, disappearing into the bathroom. Loki rolled to his back, watching Tony leave, unsure what he meant, and heard the faucet run briefly. Tony came back into the room with a hand towel and, without a word, used it to clean up the mess from between Loki's legs. He checked the sheets, glad that there wasn't much of a mess there, and walked away again.

Loki sighed in frustration because he couldn't say thank you or how wonderful their lovemaking was and stayed still, waiting for Tony.

He came back, immediately slipping under the covers, and took the time to pull them out from under Loki, and helped him get situated beneath them, before getting comfortable himself. He turned Loki onto his side and moved up behind him, spooning and snuggling against him. "Goodnight, baby. I love you."

Loki touched his fingers to Tony's arm, the best he could do in lieu of a hug, and hummed softly.

Tony tried to hide from Loki the fact that he was a little choked up from the whole evening and simply buried his face in his black hair. "I'm so happy you're here, in my arms again," he whispered, hoping Loki couldn't sense the heavy emotion he was feeling.

Loki burrowed further against Tony, keeping a tight grip on his arms, and let his eyelids drop over his eyes. And a single tear slid down his cheek.


	5. Clint Throws A Hissy Fit and

**A/N: ****Apologies! That took for-ever. I actually planned to write more, but I felt like where I ended this chapter was enough to post since it's been so long. Thanks for sticking with me, guys! Enjoy!**

**XOXO,**  
**LaLa**

* * *

Clint Throws A Hissy Fit and Natasha Packs A Punch

The next morning, after Tony woke to Loki grinding his morning wood on his thigh, and treated them both to some slow morning sex, he dragged Loki into the shower with him and washed them both clean. He helped Loki back into his pants and boots, dressed himself and added a new bandage to his shoulder. He took his time combing Loki's shoulder-length hair, enjoying the intimacy of the morning ritual, even if Loki frowned the whole time because he didn't like being treated like a pampered princess. Finally, Tony took Loki's hand and walked them out to the kitchen so he could get his morning coffee.

When they stepped into the room, everybody froze—except Thor, who had yet to see the pair.

"What?" Tony griped, aiming a dirty look at every single person staring back at him. "You've never seen a shirtless god before?" Loki's sharp green eyes moved from person to person, glaring cautiously at each until he met the soft brown eyes of Dr. Bruce Banner. Loki was only too familiar with Bruce's bad side and shifted a little closer to Tony.

Thor turned with a plate piled high with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon, yawning loudly. "G'morning, brother," he mumbled as he sat.

Blowing off the glares, Tony turned to Loki. "I need caffeine. You want to sit?" Loki nodded and Tony pulled out the chair adjacent to Thor for him then kissed the top of his head before moving to the coffeepot.

"Brother!" Thor exclaimed suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "Where is your shirt?"

Loki's green eyes shot to Tony and he cocked a judgmental black brow, but his green eyes danced with amusement. Tony chuckled as he mixed a good amount of sugar into his black coffee, and Thor, and everyone else, looked to him for an explanation. "Yeah, about that…It's kind of on my bedroom floor…in pieces…"

Bruce chuckled softly, Natasha mumbled something in Russian laced in disgust, and Steve looked downright scandalized. But it was Clint who caught everyone's attention. He slammed down his coffee mug, spilling the caramel-colored contents on the counter, splashing a little on Natasha's hand, which was resting on the counter, before storming out of the room.

"Wha…? Wait, Clint." Steve followed him out quickly.

"What's Barton's problem?" Tony scoffed before taking a drink of his coffee.

"You," both Natasha and Bruce said in unison, in two very different tones.

Tony raised his shoulders. "What the hell did I do?" Bruce filled his cup with more hot water, added another teabag of chamomile, and quietly walked out, chuckling to himself.

"Why don't you join me on the balcony, Tony?"

Tony frowned at Natasha. "Why?" She sent him a stern look and jerked her head subtly toward the table. Tony moved his gaze that way and saw Loki watching longingly as Thor shoveled food into his mouth. "Hey, Point Break! Show a little courtesy."

"Hmm?" Thor lifted his head, his cheeks puffed out with food.

Tony motioned to Loki with his mug. "Can you not stuff your face in front of the dude with the mouthpiece?"

Thor looked at his brother and seemed to realize his faux pas and immediately pushed his plate away, swallowing and chewing as fast as his mouth would move. "I apologize, brother. I did not mean to—"

"Mm." Loki waved him off, but still stared at the leftover food.

"Stark."

Tony turned his attention to Natasha and at her insistence followed her out of the room, laying a hand on Loki's shoulder then caressing his cheek as he walked by. Silently, he followed the redhead to the balcony, briefly wondering where Steve had chased Clint down to. Natasha stopped, looking out at the waking city then down to watch three men hovering around a Starkopter on the landing pad, wiping it down with soapy washcloths. Tony joined her, leaning an arm on the new, sturdier railing, and sipped from his coffee mug.

"So what did I do now?"

"It's not what you're doing; it's _who_ you're doing," Natasha answered bluntly. Tony inadvertently laughed and turned his head to raise his eyebrows at her.

"Are you serious? Barton's having a hissy fit because I'm sleeping with Loki?

Natasha's stance hadn't changed in the slightest since they stepped out into the warm sunshine; she stood ramrod straight, arms crossed under her breasts, and stoic expression, as always. "You can't possibly think it's as simple as that, Stark."

He rolled his eyes. "No, I get it. He's still got his panties in a bunch because Loki used the Glowstick of Destiny on him and made him his little bitch. What's that got to do with me?"

Natasha barely moved, except to tighten her lips together. "I know you don't give a shit about anybody but yourself, Stark. You made that clear when you abandoned the one person who actually cared about you for a psychopathic murderer."

Tony shot up straight, all humor gone, his entire body going tense. "Watch it, Romanov."

"Could you think about someone besides yourself for once?" she continued, undaunted and not intimidated in the least by the great Tony Stark—in or out of his Iron Man suit. "We're supposed to be a team. How do you expect any of us to trust you knowing you might run off with the next opponent for a quick screw?"

"Oh, fuck you, we're a team. Just because I let you guys bunk here in between intermittent scrimmages of saving the world? I don't give a shit if any of you trust me!" He shouted, cutting off Natasha's next remark. "You think I trust _you_? You're a fucking spy, Romanov. You're a better liar than anybody in this tower—including Loki."

Natasha's eyes narrowed; still, she did not move a muscle.

"How many murders do you have on your list anyway? Because I can guaran-fucking-tee you, it's a shitload more than eighty." He saw one eye twitch, giving him a nice sense of satisfaction. "The only one I give a good goddamn about, besides Loki, is Banner. He's the only one I can count on."

Natasha's mossy green eyes studied him intently. "We _are_ a team, Stark."

"We're not a team, Natasha. We're a group of misfits that got thrown together at the last minute to save Fury's ass. Sure, we work well and fight well together. But can you honestly stand there, look me in the eye, and tell me you would take a bullet for me?"

She kept staring at him, pressed her lips together once more. "If it was vital to the mission…"

"Oh, please," Tony muttered, turning away. He looked down at the contents of his coffee mug and tossed it out into a plant, feeling no desire for it anymore—which was saying a lot; he loved his coffee as much as he loved his whiskey. Silence fell between them, the only sound being the fast-paced music coming from somewhere down by the Starkopter.

Natasha relaxed minutely, dropping her arms to her sides, absently fingering the handle of the knife she kept strapped to her side. "Stark—"

"When did it start?" he blurted out over her soft voice.

"When did what start?"

He turned, setting his dark, determined gaze on her. "You and Barton." Tony's lips quirked at the way Natasha visibly bristled. It was the first time he had ever seen the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent caught off guard. "Was it in Budapest?"

"How is that important to this discussion?"

"What discussion? You dragged me out here to badger me into breaking up with Loki." Her head jerked in surprise and confusion and he nearly groaned in frustration. "Genius. Hel-_lo_."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, even moving away from him; and now he could add seeing genuine emotion to the list of firsts with Agent Romanov. He didn't follow her, but he turned to watch her, leaning against the railing casually, enjoying the way he was getting to her. "I wasn't going to badger you, for the record. I was just going to…forcibly convince you."

"Is that how you got Barton in bed?" He laughed at his own joke, swallowing it back at the deadly look she shot his way. "Look, Natasha, you can say whatever you want or do whatever you want. I'm still not going to break up with him." She sent him an exasperated look. His eyes fell away, studying the empty mug in his hand. "I just got him back," he said softly.

Natasha huffed shortly and stomped toward him, closing the distance between them. "You can't keep him here."

Tony's eyes flicked up, hard and boring down into Natasha's. "This is _my_ tower, Agent. _I_ decide who gets to stay here. And who doesn't."

"You can't, Stark. Not only will Fury go mental, but he won't allow it. We can't all be here in one tower, like one happy family. Clint will kill him before the sun even sets on his first day here."

"He'll have to go through me," he said without missing a beat. "And probably Thor," he added as an afterthought. He angled a look her way. "Does Fury know about you and Barton?" Natasha went rigid again. "Does he know his two top agents are getting it on when he sends you off on your secret missions? Or are those just a bunch of bullshit you two tell us about so you can get some alone time and get your—"

"This isn't a joke, Tony!" Natasha had just lost her cool, shouting up into Tony's face. And all the scientist could do was grin sardonically. "Loki can't stay here. He doesn't belong here. He's dangerous!"

"_We're all dangerous!_" Natasha jumped back, but Tony suspected it was more because he had thrown down his coffee mug, shattering it to pieces, than his surprising outburst. He tossed a hand out to encompass the tower as he explained, "Banner keeps himself in solitude, barely having any human contact so the Enormous Green Rage Monster doesn't level the tower, with all of us in it. Clint can kill someone in a million different ways with _one single_ arrow. Same with you and your freaky, bendy legs. Thor summons lighting for Christ sake and carries a gigantic hammer! We are all dangerous, Natasha! The only who wouldn't kill without a justified reason to do it, is Rogers."

"But, Loki—"

"_Has_. _No_. _Power_!" He enunciated each word with a slap of his hands. "He's stripped of his powers. He's practically defenseless right now. Unless you think death by harsh glare is possible."

"And if he gets his powers back and Odin lets him leave Asgard with you? What then? You're going to bring him back here and live happily ever after? This isn't a goddamn fairytale, Stark. You're putting lives in danger."

"People's lives are in danger every day! Out of everyone in this tower, _I'm_ the only one doing anything to save them on a regular basis."

"And that's going to continue if you bring Loki back here? What if he reverts back to his old self? Are you going to fight him? Or, what, you think because he's with you he won't be up to his old tricks? You said to me just yesterday that nobody could trust anything he said because he gets off on screwing with people's minds. What changed since then?"

"He came back! That's what changed."

She scoffed derisively, crossed her arms again. "Oh, right. Thor brings him back, you spend one night with him, doing god knows what—spare me the details," she said throwing up a hand to silence Tony's interjection. "Nothing changed, Tony, except his location."

"You don't know anything about it, Natasha."

Natasha made a disgusted face. "Please don't tell me you're as dumb as one of those chicks who think they can change a man just because they love him. You are _not_ that special, Stark."

Reacting quickly, the heel of Natasha's hand shot up when Tony lunged forward and connected with his nose.

"Ow, shit!" Tony doubled over, cradling his nose. They both looked up, startled, when the sound of shattering glass broke through the tense silence.

"_Loki, stop!_" Thor snagged his elbow and shoved him back into the tower, depositing him on the sofa before returning to the balcony. "Stark, are you all right?"

He straightened just as Steve and Clint came running out, probably because of the noise. Clint slipped on the glass and nearly ate it, but Steve caught him by the arm. "No, I'm not all right! My nose is fucking broken." He looked at Natasha, snatching himself away from her when she reached for his arm. "Don't touch me! And get out of my tower!"

"It was a reflex!" she called out after him.

Tony stopped and glared at her from already bruising eyes. "And you think Loki is the most dangerous one." Shaking his head, he stormed back into the house.

* * *

Loki had never stared at something so lasciviously—except for maybe Tony. His mouth watered, which made it very uncomfortable behind the muzzle, and his stomach made so many noises he was surprised Thor didn't hear it. But the blond god was too busy plowing into the pile of food on his plate. Delicious looking food, at that. Loki didn't know what the fluffy circular stack that Thor had drowned in something that was fragrant and looked like honey was, but he did recognize the yellow mound of eggs and strips of bacon. Oh, by the Norns, was he hungry!

He didn't even care that the Hawk Man stormed out of the kitchen, followed by the Soldier. He knew it was because of him and a part of him wished he could remove this damned mouth gag if only for a moment. He owed the Hawk an explanation. But he couldn't even be bothered to feel anything but hunger as he inhaled the scent of coffee. Tony loved his coffee and drank it nearly as often as his favored amber alcohol. Loki didn't care for the bitter taste, preferring to imbibe tea, but he couldn't deny how pleasing to the nostrils the drink's aroma could be.

He was so concentrated on Thor's food, he jolted at Tony's shout, and felt his cheeks redden when he pointed out that Thor had been eating as if someone was going to steal his food from under him, in front of Loki, who couldn't do anything but watch. Thor had the decency to look as embarrassed as he felt and pushed the plate away and apologized. Loki didn't want his apology, and made it known, but still stared at the half-eaten breakfast, coveting it.

Then the Widow was taking Tony away. He leaned into the hand that caressed his cheek, wanting very much to make Tony stay and not leave him with Thor. He was sure Thor would start talking to him, and as good a rest as he had—the first time he had slept soundly since he had left Tony's bed over a month ago—he just didn't have the patience to listen to Thor while being unable to silence him or answer back with a smart retort.

"It's really Stark's fault, you know."

_And here we go_, he thought with a sharp eye roll. But he looked at Thor with a raised brow, hoping the dolt understood his intention.

"There were no plans for us to stay. Had I known, I could have had father or mother teach me a spell of sustenance and you would not be starving. As I said, 'tis Stark's fault."

Loki shrugged and looked away in vague agreement. He looked out toward the window, hoping to catch a glance of Tony and the redhead, but all he could see was the edge of the landing pad for Tony's suit.

"I take it by your missing shirt, and the spring in Stark's step, that things between you are…copacetic."

Loki chuckled softly and met Thor's blue eyes. Because it was still unknown what would happen, and they didn't spend the night _talking_ things out, he could only shrug.

Thor drank from his oversized mug, specially purchased by Tony for him because it had feathered, winged handles, reminiscent of his helmet, and grew quiet for a moment. Loki shifted in his chair, trying still to find Tony.

"Loki, have you thought this through?"

Loki went still, a little taken aback at Thor's soft voice, and returned to his original position, frowning at his would-be brother's question. "Mm…?"

He set his mug aside, sighing as if he was carrying the world's problems on his shoulders. "You are asking me to defy father's rules."

Green eyes flashed and Loki huffed sharply through his nose as he stirred in his chair again. Gods, he could scream! Damn this muzzle, damn Odin, and damn Thor and his hypocritical ways! How dare the Son of Odin question him about defying the man he once called father when everything—the reasons for Loki's own identity crisis, his fall into the abyss, Thor's banishment, _everything_—was because of his desire to travel to Jotünheim, to _defy his father's rules_.

"Loki…" He shoved at the table, shocking Thor into silence for a moment, and shot up from the chair so quickly it fell, clanging to the floor, and stormed out of the room. "Loki, do not walk away from me!"

Thor's bellow came from behind him, but Loki kept moving. His long legs moved him quickly across the lounge toward Tony's bedroom. Thor caught up with him there, wrapping his thick fingers around his thin arm as he tried to work Tony's Starkpad.

"Brother, listen to me," he demanded, twisting him around.

"Mm!" Loki shoved at him, proud of himself when he finally got the Starkpad to light up. Thor kept trying to talk to him and he only pushed him away, eventually fleeing back to the lounge to get away, and found the notepad application.

"Brother, please. Listen to me," Thor said seriously, as he reentered the lounge, stopping with the coffee table between them. "I just want to know that this is truly what you desire. Taking him back is going to cause more problems for you than you have already. It took long enough to convince father to even let me bring you here."

"Mm!" Loki continued to type, thrusting the Starkpad toward Thor when he finished, his breath coming so heavily, his chest heaved with it.

Thor took the tablet in his large hand and stared at Loki in what he could only describe as shock. He grunted and pointed at the tablet. Thor looked and read the words he typed.

"_Do not question me about my wants and needs, Thor. Anthony Stark is the only person in any realm that has treated me with any semblance of kindness. I will not let you or your precious father keep me from him. I need him._"

Loki watched Thor's face as he read and the frown on the blond's face only seemed to deepen with each word. When he finally lifted his head, Loki was surprised at the look in his cobalt blue eyes. Was that…hurt? "…Mm…?"

"I see," was all Thor said, handing him back the tablet.

Loki took it back, clearing what he had typed in as Thor turned away. He looked up, glad that he could now clearly see Tony and the redhead talking. It must have been going well; Tony looked quite smug, leaning against the railing the way he was. He couldn't see the Widow's face, but by her terse stance, she didn't seem to be very amused with Tony.

He could hardly blame her; as much as he loved the genius, he knew just how infuriating he could be; as bad as Thor when he wanted, or even when he felt he was on the right side of an argument—which was always. But even when they butted heads like two stubborn rams, their fights always ended with either soft kissing or heated love-making. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed that bodily contact until last night. He didn't know how he had lived thousands of years without Anthony Stark. And if Odin wouldn't let him continue living with him…well, there were ways to end a god's life.

"Loki."

Thor pulled him from his discomforting thoughts, standing just behind him so he reluctantly turned his back to Tony and Natasha.

"Do you think I've not been kind to you all these years?"

Loki didn't respond, only moved his eyes away, and moved to set the Starkpad on the arm of the nearest sofa. _This is not the time for this conversation_, he wanted to say. They really should have been preparing to leave for Asgard.

"No one has defended you as I have, brother." He moved closer, laying a hand on Loki's forearm to get his attention. Loki's eyes flicked up, but still he made no response. "Whatever your feelings toward mother and father, and theirs toward you, I need you to know…"

He cocked a brow, his only effort to encourage Thor to continue.

"You _are_ my brother, in every sense of the word, and I will think of you as such, until the last day of this life. I know not what more I can do to prove this to you, except…" He sighed in frustration, his blue eyes moving around the room frantically, as if he would find the answer in the air of the tower. "I will do everything in my power to see that you and the Man of Iron have a chance to be together."

The declaration stunned Loki. He hadn't anticipated help from Thor or anyone. He expected that he would have to fight—with his life, if it was deemed necessary—to be with Tony. Yes, the God of Mischief and Lies had found himself in that sad predicament that if he couldn't be with Tony, he didn't want to live. Tentatively, Loki laid a pale hand over Thor's.

When the bright blue of his brother's eyes met his of green, Loki dipped his head, a nod of thanks. They both jolted at a loud crash. Loki whirled around, pressing his hands against the glass, grunting behind the muzzle.

"Loki, no," Thor took him by the elbows and pulled him back a few steps.

"Mmm?" Loki struggled to free himself, but Thor's fingers only tightened around his bare arms. "Mmm?!"

He sighed again. He did that far too much these days, Loki thought. "Loki, you do not understand the situation you have placed Tony in with the rest of the team. They are unsure if they can trust him anymore; you saw how Clint wanted to harm him yesterday and his reaction this morning."

Loki made a contemptuous noise and stepped away from Thor. As if he gave a damn what Clint or any of them thought about his relationship with Tony. The genius himself could care less, he knew. What went on between them was just that: between them. He didn't expect any of the so-called Avengers to believe that he only wanted to be with Tony and wouldn't be chasing a kingdom or world domination with an alien army. But it was the truth.

He looked back out to the balcony, watching as the two seemed to be having strong words with each other. He wished he could hear what was being said, what was making Tony so angry that his face went red with it, and the woman often crossed and uncrossed her arms. Thor was speaking to him, but he wasn't listening. There was something about "sleeping with the enemy," or some such nonsense.

He was about to turn to Thor to question what in Hel he was talking about—how, he didn't know—when he saw Tony's face turn absolutely purple with rage and move forward, aiming, it looked, for the redhead. And then the redhead's hand flew up, striking Tony in the face.

Loki saw red. In a rush of adrenaline, he let out a feral growl, muted by the muzzle to an angry hum, and kicked the glass door open with such force, the entire structure shattered into a million shards. He heard Thor call to him, but it was a distant buzz compared to the roaring of blood in his ears. He started toward the pair, torn between tossing the woman over the balcony's edge and rushing to Tony's aid.

Then Thor's heavy hand was on him, yanking him back inside and throwing him down to the sofa, ordering him to stay put. He bounced and hit the floor on his knees. He hissed from the pain shooting through his kneecaps and up his thighs and struggled to right himself to sit on the black piece of furniture again. He heard more footsteps and more voices, but was too distracted to understand what was going on.

Just as he managed to get himself upright, Tony was taking him by the hand and dragging him up from the sofa and back to his bedroom.


	6. The Last to Know, the First to Step Up

**A/N: Apologies for the extremely long wait! I've been working on a lot of different projects, plus school, and I wasn't sure what to do with this chap. I still don't know where the story's going but I'm really going to try to outline the rest of it soon, since I'll begin posting the 3rd part in the Picture Perfect series, and possibly two other fics, in a couple of weeks, after school lets out.**

**Took a bit of a departure here and wrote this chapter from Steve's POV, a character I've never written from before. Hope it turned out well. Enjoy!**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

Steve followed Clint out of the kitchen, hoping Natasha would find her chance to speak to Tony, and sprinted to jump into the elevator before the doors closed on him. "Clint…"

"Not now, Cap," Clint muttered through tight lips, his narrowed blue eyes fixed to the panel displaying the numbers of the floors.

"Then when? You're going to have to confront one or both of them eventually."

The archer finally looked at him, a frown darkening his usually handsome face, adding a dangerous element to his already bristling demeanor. "Why would I talk to either of them?"

Steve sighed and started to speak, but the doors slid open. He followed Clint off toward the gym, making his strides longer to keep up with the shorter man as he walked briskly to the area Tony had sectioned off specifically for Clint to practice his archery. "Because, Clint, we can't work together successfully if we don't talk to each other."

Clint had kept on moving, gathering his things to practice, and stopped suddenly, forcing Steve to jerk to a stop, too. He stared intensely at the captain with a hard azure stare. "And what do you expect me to talk to Stark about? Or Loki?"

Steve met his gaze equally. "If you ask me, Stark owes us all an explanation. I'm as curious as you. He was right there beside us, fighting against Loki. He faced him, one-on-one, not once, but _twice_."

"Exactly!" Clint shouted. "How does someone go from _that_, to harboring and fucking a fugitive for however long? And right under our goddamned noses!"

The soldier winced. "I know you're upset, but…language, Barton."

"_Fuck_ language right now, Cap! I'm pissed off!"

"So am I!" He sighed at the incredulous look the archer aimed his way. "I _am_. But let's get some perspective here, Agent," he straightened, taking on his firm, official voice. "We both know about Tony Stark's reputation. I knew Howard; that apple did not fall far from the tree, in many aspects."

Clint shrugged, scoffed, and carried his bow and quiver of arrows to the marked spot to shoot. "So he's as brilliant and as much of a whore as his dad. So what?"

Steve rolled his eyes at Clint's easy use of the vulgar term, and then frowned, wondering if that word could even be applied to a man. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and moved to look at Clint, but stood far enough away to not block him from shooting. "So…doesn't it make you wonder? What is it about Loki that made Tony change—_willingly_? I mean, how did this alien from some other world do what Miss Potts couldn't?"

Clint paused, just as he was lifting an arrow, and glanced at Steve.

"What about him got a promiscuous, self-proclaimed playboy to suddenly commit?"

The archer laughed derisively and brought the bow up, and drew the arrow back, closing one eye to better focus. "You're not that dense, Captain." He let the arrow loose; satisfied he hit the very center of the target, and turned to face Steve again. "It's obviously about sex. And, clearly, Loki does it better than Pepper."

Steve visibly fought the blush that stained his cheeks at the thought of either couple having sex. "Yes. Maybe, but, Clint…" He took a step forward. "This isn't just about…sex." Clint smirked at the way his voice lowered on just that word. "That is absolutely what started it, I'm sure. But he…he _loves_ Loki. He's _in_ love with Loki."

The bow fell to Clint's side and now he faced Steve straight on, a frown still on his face.

"That's something I don't think even Tony expected. I need you—I need _all_ of us to sit down and talk to him, to straighten everything out between us. Otherwise…the Avengers Initiative is finished." Steve searched Clint's face, an indiscernible expression looking back at him.

Clint shook his head ruefully as he picked up another arrow. "You can't put that on me, Cap."

"I know. But it's the truth. And…I _really_ hate to admit this…" He squeezed his eyes shut, his face pinching as if in pain, and looked up, as if praying. He let out a long breath and focused on Clint again. "We need Stark."

Clint gazed at Steve quietly before reluctantly agreeing with a small nod. He turned his attention to his bow again and inserted the arrow nock into the bow nock. He had just lifted it and aimed at the target when something crashed above them. Both he and Steve looked up, their brows drawn together. "Thor?"

Steve raised a hand to silence him and waited, intently listening. "No." He brought his eyes down to Clint's and the archer cocked a brow. "He hasn't done that in quite some time. Jarvis scolded him the last time. And no 'another' followed."

Clint looked away briefly. At the faint sound of voices yelling, their eyes met. "Tasha." He tossed down his bow and arrow and the two of them bolted to the elevator.

* * *

Steve was counting the seconds it took for the elevator to reach the lounge. When the doors finally slid open he watched, instinctively shouting out when Loki kicked open the glass door hard enough to have it shattering into a million pieces. "Holy…!"

Clint darted out of the elevator ahead of him, but he caught up with two quick strides.

"Clint, don't!" He snagged him by the elbow and held him back. "Let Thor handle him." They stood by, watching as Thor hauled Loki back inside and tossed him with ease to the sofa then headed back outside to ask Tony if he was all right. Clint shook Steve off of him and Steve quickly followed him outside to the balcony and caught his arm again when he slipped on the glass. Clint struggled against him again. "Just…wait."

Clint's struggles finally subsided and they both stared Natasha and Tony's way, the former cradling his nose between his hands. Steve blinked and dropped his hand from Clint's arm.

"No, I'm not all right!" Tony exploded at Thor before turning on Natasha, screaming at her to get out of his tower.

"It was a reflex!" she called out after him.

Steve watched Tony stumble toward him and wanted to reach out to help him, but sensed it would only cause Tony to lash out at him and get him even more upset. After one more insult hurled Natasha's way, Tony stormed back into the house. He and Clint started to approach her and Thor stayed just behind them.

"Well. That went well," Clint mocked.

"What happened?" Steve questioned, wasting a stern look by aiming it Clint's way.

"Yeah, why did you hit him? Not that I don't appreciate it," he muttered.

"Agent," Steve impatiently scolded him and turned back to Natasha.

The redhead pressed her lips together. "I told you it shouldn't have been me to talk to him. It was the same as it always is between us: he patronized me, I insulted him; he lunged, I hit—total gut reaction."

"You were just supposed to talk to him, tell him that we can't have Loki here. How did it end up with you punching him in the face and him kicking you out of the tower?"

Natasha cocked a brow, crossing her arms, moving her feet apart in a very defensive stance. "I know what my mission was, Captain. I told him that and he flipped out. I even warned him that Clint would kill him before Loki spent twenty four hours here."

Clint laughed deeply, cutting the tickled noise short when he caught both Steve's and Thor's glares. "I wouldn't," he insisted.

"What was said?" Steve asked looking at Natasha again.

"I said he wasn't special enough to change Loki."

The soldier released a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, as Clint snorted. He snuck a peek at Thor; the Asgardian remained silent, barely moving, his blond brows furrowed heavily over stormy blue eyes.

"Then he lunged. And, in a completely natural reflex, I hit."

"Jeez, Natasha, you were just supposed to make him aware. This could have the exact opposite response we wanted. He just kicked you out of the tower. What's stopping him from kicking the rest of us out?"

"Oh, calm down, Cap" Clint said with a roll of his eyes. "Don't get your star-spangled panties in a wad. He's not gonna kick us out. Fury wouldn't let him do that anyway."

Taken aback by the panties comment—in mixed company, no less!—Steve stuttered for a moment. "I…uh…mm…what did he say to you?" He abruptly turned the attention back to Natasha.

Her brows twitched. "…What?"

"Y-you…" he cleared his throat. "You said you insulted him in response. What did he say to you for you to insult him?"

For a brief moment, those big moss green eyes just stared at him, blankly, and Steve couldn't decipher the emotion in them—if there was one. Then Natasha looked to Clint, with the same expressionless face. But Clint clearly saw something else. He blinked and visibly stiffened before scoffing. "How…?"

Natasha cocked a brow, jerked her shoulder. "Loki."

"How did he—? Shit."

Steve's eyes bounced between the two, utterly confused. "What—what did Loki do? I don't under…what?"

"If I am to understand correctly, Stark inquired about the Lady Widow's relationship with the Hawk." Thor crossed his muscled arms over his chest when all three pairs of eyes turn on him. Steve's jaw dropped almost comically.

"Did Loki tell you about that?"

The Asgardian grinned softly. "Nay, my lady. My brother need not speak to me of what I have seen with mine own eye." Steve looked back at Natasha and Clint and saw them both blush.

"Wait, wait, wait…" He held up a hand to quiet Thor and faced the still blushing duo. "Am I the only one who doesn't understand what's going on here?"

"Probably," Clint muttered and groaned when Natasha socked him in the gut.

"You two are…" His fingers in a 'V,' Steve pointed at them. "…involved?" Clint looked away and Natasha said nothing. "Are you?!"

She huffed and leaned into Clint, muttering in hushed tones for him to just tell him. "Why do I have to tell him?" She aimed a hard look at him. "Fine! Yes, Steve. Me and Natasha—"

"Natasha and I," she corrected.

"Really, babe?" He turned his head sharply to her and she threw up her hands in surrender. "_Natasha and I_ are involved."

Steve stared, in total shock, the only movement being his eyes, flying between the two agents. Clint frowned at him after a few silent moments passed.

"What, Cap? Why are you—are you confused again? Do you need a visual aid or something?"

"Clint." Beside him Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Does Fury know?" he asked calmly but strained.

"Yes," the redhead stated almost grudgingly. "He doesn't like it, but he knows."

Steve inhaled sharply and his handsome features hardened. "Do you two have any idea what you've done?"

They looked at each other, mutually shaking their heads, not understanding. "No, I can't say that we do," Clint answered cheekily.

Behind him, Steve could hear Thor sighing and grumbling something to himself about incompetent mortals. He chose to ignore it. "You have completely ruined our argument!" he shouted, surprising them all. "How can we criticize Tony when two members of my own damn team—excuse me, Natasha—are doing exactly what he did?"

"Whoa!" Clint exploded.

"We are not! Clint isn't the enemy!" Natasha shouted again, her rising irritation apparent.

"He was at one point, Agent, and _that_ makes us hypocrites."

Natasha groaned unhappily while Clint stepped forward, aiming a finger at Steve, clearly upset by Steve's accusation. "Hey, that was not my fault!"

"Neither was it Loki's," Thor butted in. They all turned to him again, but the Norse god didn't take his hard ice blue gaze off of Clint. The archer scoffed derisively again.

"He's right, Clint." Steve nodded in affirmation when both agents glared at him. He turned to Thor. "Tell them."

"Tell us what?" Natasha snapped and Steve scowled at her.

"There's a lot we still don't know about the Chitauri, and how they got Loki to do their bidding."

"Do their bidding? What the hell are you talking about, Captain? They were Loki's backup. They were doing what _he_ was telling them to."

"They were not." This time, Thor took a step forward. "When Loki fell from the damaged Bifrost, we thought him dead, lost in the black abyss. He will not speak of what happened to him when he woke. However, when _I_ first spoke to him, after retrieving him from your flying ship—"

"You mean _stole_," Natasha interrupted.

"Agent, please," Steve sighed. Mother of god, this group was exhausting.

"The man I was speaking to was not my brother, Agent Romanov." He paused, clenching his jaw briefly before continuing. "He was as much under the influence of the tessaract as you were, Agent Barton. Taking control of Midgard was not Loki's idea, nor was it ever a desire of his; it was the Chitauri's. The Chitauri are known for their ways of torture, but I know not what methods were used on Loki. Though, from what I have read of Director Fury's report of Loki's landing at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters…I do have my theories."

Steve lowered his eyes for a moment, roaming them over the shattered pieces of Tony's coffee mug, before glancing at Natasha and Clint.

"So, what, I'm supposed to feel bad for the guy who forced me to kill some of my own teammates and nearly destroyed our city?"

"He did not do it alone," Thor pointed out.

"All right, enough," Steve interjected before things got more heated. "No one's asking you to be the guy's best friend, Clint. But why don't you take a step back and start accepting the fact that you two were in a very similar predicament?"

Clint clenched his teeth and fists and looked away.

"Natasha, could you get a broom and clean this up?" He pointed to the broken ceramic pieces. She gave him a very bland look, like she was contemplating which way exactly she would break his neck. "You made him break it," he said, thinking it was a logical reason. "Thor, you'd better start getting things ready to head back."

"Aye, Captain."

"And where are _you_ going?" Natasha called out as Steve started to leave.

"To talk to Tony…" he started without stopping or looking back, "and to apologize for you two."

* * *

It took three tries before Steve was granted entry into Tony's bedroom. And when he finally went in, he was a little embarrassed at what he had walked in on. Tony was stretched out on the bed between Loki's legs, his head in the god's lap as his pale fingers stroked through Tony's dark hair. Tony was rubbing at his face and groaning in pain. Despite Tony's discomfort, it seemed a rather intimate scene.

"What, Steve?"

Steve blinked himself back to the moment and closed his mouth. "Oh. I just wanted to come in and apologize for Natasha."

"Okay…"

"I didn't know about…you know—her involvement with Clint." Tony lifted his head finally to give him a surprised look. "And if I had, I wouldn't have had her speak to you. I wouldn't have tried to have anyone speak to you."

Tony must have been in a lot of pain, Steve thought, because he simply shrugged and laid his head back down in Loki's lap. "It's fine, Cap. You all reacted the way I expected you to. Except Thor…I thought Thor would kill me."

"Mm," Loki grunted and when Tony met his eyes, he shook his head firmly. Tony playfully bopped a finger to his nose.

"And you didn't know. Does that mean Fury doesn't know?"

Steve chuckled quietly. "Yes, apparently, he knows and he doesn't like it. I think I was the last to know. Unless Dr. Banner—"

"Nope, he knows."

"Oh." His nose scrunched a little at that. He was always the last to know. It grew quiet again, the soldier awkwardly watching Loki pet Tony lovingly. "Uh…Tony, I have something I want to ask you." Tony groaned again; in pain, Steve hoped, and in his own way, told him to continue. "May I accompany you to Asgard?"

His brows rose when Loki's fingers stilled against Tony's forehead and they both lifted their heads in unison to look at him, dumbfounded. Tony cocked a brow. "…You want to come to Asgard with us?"

He nodded, his hands twisting anxiously together behind his back, and took another step forward, moving closer to the bed. "Let me explain?"

Tony sat up, scooting back so he could rest against the god's chest. Loki saw this and raised his arms so Tony could duck under the chains and the paler man rested his hands lightly around the genius' body. "Can't wait to hear this; go for it." Loki hummed softly in agreement behind him.

Steve breathed out very slowly. Something inside him ached as a picture of Peggy formed in his mind. He wondered if he would ever find someone like her in this day and age; if it was worth it finding that someone because he would most likely outlive her. He wished he had a connection and compatibility with someone like Tony seemed to have with Loki.

Their sweetness was almost suffocating.

He cleared his throat and began, "I don't know the protocols and such on Asgard, but I know you. If I'm guessing correctly, you and Thor will likely be presented to Odin, alongside Loki, and have to ask for Loki to be released to your care. And you're going to have to give him some really good reasons as to why he should. Basically, you'll be speaking for Loki, as will Thor."

Tony lifted his shoulders, frowning. "And...?"

Steve chuckled. "Admit it, Tony. You and authority don't exactly have a great relationship."

"It's not my fault most authoritative figures are assholes." He glanced over his shoulder at Loki at his playful nudge.

Steve chuckled lightly. "My point is...Odin's going to want to know why _you_ should be the one he releases Loki to. But who's going to speak for you? He won't take Thor's word because Thor will say anything to get Loki out of those chains. And I'm sure Odin knows it."

Loki squeaked out a laugh and Tony chuckled.

"He won't listen to Loki because he's the prisoner…and, that whole, um, bedding with a mortal thing."

"Nice going, Reindeer Games. Ow." Tony rubbed the back of his head where Loki bumped the hard metal mouthpiece against him.

"I would like to speak on your behalf."

They both looked up at him again, this time with eyes full of suspicion. "Why, Cap? Why would you want to go out on a limb for me? And don't say it's because of some debt you owe Howard. I'm not down for that. Howard had a lot of respect for you, but his cold, dead body would crawl out of his grave _Thriller_-style if he knew you were helping me."

Steve frowned, lowering his gaze for a moment, both confused at what '_Thriller_-style' meant and saddened by Tony's poor memories of his father. He wished Tony would sit still long enough for him to tell him about the man as _he_ remembered him, when he was young: incredibly charismatic, extremely intelligent, and a deft way of smooth-talking anyone, particularly the ladies. Just like Tony. "It's not because of Howard. I don't know about the others, but I can certainly say that I've seen the change that Loki has had on you. A _positive_ change."

Tony breathed out a laugh, but barely smiled. "Oh, really?"

"And considering what I've heard about Loki—and the fact that he was willing to turn himself in…" He grinned, looking like the good ol' All-American boy he was. "I think you two balance each other out pretty well."

Tony turned his head, glancing sideways at Loki. They seemed to be having a conversation—which made Steve frown again, this time in confusion. After a moment, Tony returned his gaze to Steve. "If you really want to do that, Steve…I'd appreciate it."

"Mm-mm…"

Tony tilted his head toward the man he sat against. "Loki would, too."

Steve smiled, nodded. "I'll let Thor know. You should probably start getting ready. He's preparing to leave."

"Thanks, Cap."

The soldier sent him a soft salute, and with a bit of a spring in his step, he marched out of the room.


End file.
